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Topic: De-baptism... with a hair-dryer (Read 9795 times)

I wonder if they will use a vacuum to remove the indwelling Spirit? By implication, 'Reason and Truth' are hot air!

U.S. Atheists Reportedly Using Hair Dryers to 'De-Baptize'

Published July 17, 2010

American atheists lined up to be "de-baptized" in a ritual using a hair dryer, according to a report Friday on U.S. late-night news program "Nightline."

Leading atheist Edwin Kagin blasted his fellow non-believers with the hair dryer to symbolically dry up the holy water sprinkled on their heads in days past. The styling tool was emblazoned with a label reading "Reason and Truth."

Kagin believes parents are wrong to baptize their children before they are able to make their own choices, even slamming some religious eduction as "child abuse." He said the blast of hot air was a way for adults to undo what their parents had done.

"I was baptized Catholic. I don't remember any of it at all," said 24-year-old Cambridge Boxterman. "According to my mother, I screamed like a banshee ... so you can see that even as a young child I didn't want to be baptized. It's not fair. I was born atheist, and they were forcing me to become Catholic."

Kagin doned a monk's robe and said a few mock-Latin phrases before inviting those wishing to be de-baptized to "come forward now and receive the spirit of hot air that taketh away the stigma and taketh away the remnants of the stain of baptismal water."

Ironically, Kagin's own son became a fundamentalist Christian minister after having "a personal revelation in Jesus Christ."

I wonder if they will use a vacuum to remove the indwelling Spirit? By implication, 'Reason and Truth' are hot air!

U.S. Atheists Reportedly Using Hair Dryers to 'De-Baptize'

Published July 17, 2010

American atheists lined up to be "de-baptized" in a ritual using a hair dryer, according to a report Friday on U.S. late-night news program "Nightline."

Leading atheist Edwin Kagin blasted his fellow non-believers with the hair dryer to symbolically dry up the holy water sprinkled on their heads in days past. The styling tool was emblazoned with a label reading "Reason and Truth."

Kagin believes parents are wrong to baptize their children before they are able to make their own choices, even slamming some religious eduction as "child abuse." He said the blast of hot air was a way for adults to undo what their parents had done.

"I was baptized Catholic. I don't remember any of it at all," said 24-year-old Cambridge Boxterman. "According to my mother, I screamed like a banshee ... so you can see that even as a young child I didn't want to be baptized. It's not fair. I was born atheist, and they were forcing me to become Catholic."

Kagin doned a monk's robe and said a few mock-Latin phrases before inviting those wishing to be de-baptized to "come forward now and receive the spirit of hot air that taketh away the stigma and taketh away the remnants of the stain of baptismal water."

Ironically, Kagin's own son became a fundamentalist Christian minister after having "a personal revelation in Jesus Christ."

"One wonders where they went wrong," he chuckled to the TV show.

I want to see the decircumcision story for atheist Jews.

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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

A bit more whimsical and light-hearted than the blasphemy challenge, though equally silly. I can understand why non-believers sometimes consider some religious "education" to be child abuse, though. I have the same reaction regarding some issues.

One would think that if these were real atheists, they would just leave behind whatever religious practice they followed before and go their merry way. Instead, they adopt a form of baptism (in renouncing their own baptisms), become more evangelical than Evangelicals, and continue to attach themselves to a belief in God, albeit that their belief is that there is no God. Ironically, without God, there would be no atheists. It seems to me that they want to believe in something strongly like those who have faith. Perhaps several of them were not encouraged in religion because religious people they knew were more godless than atheists.

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Quote from: GabrieltheCelt

If you spend long enough on this forum, you'll come away with all sorts of weird, untrue ideas of Orthodox Christianity.

Quote from: orthonorm

I would suggest most persons in general avoid any question beginning with why.

One poster considered the act funny, but in a way I think it was meant to be sacreligious and mocking, which gets to this issue.

There are atheists who simply don't believe, then there are those who hate belief and believers.

For example, as a Christian, I do not hate those who do not believe. While I generally have negative opinions about heterodox practices that conflict with my beliefs, etc. I do not make public displays of them and only share them in certain cases. Yet, I can also have a reasonable discussion with atheists without resorting to insults and mockery of their doubts.

I think the hair-dryer folks are going way beyond simply disbelieving God and are focussed on hating Him and those who follow Him. This explains the 'faux Latin,' the robes and the hair-dryer. They invoke 'Reason and Truth' as a god and 'dry up' their Baptism in a way that implies that they think their Baptism is somehow 'real,' even though they claim not to believe at all.

I infer from this story that these folks do indeed believe, but what they believe they hate.

One would think that if these were real atheists, they would just leave behind whatever religious practice they followed before and go their merry way. Instead, they adopt a form of baptism (in renouncing their own baptisms), become more evangelical than Evangelicals, and continue to attach themselves to a belief in God, albeit that their belief is that there is no God. Ironically, without God, there would be no atheists. It seems to me that they want to believe in something strongly like those who have faith. Perhaps several of them were not encouraged in religion because religious people they knew were more godless than atheists.

One poster considered the act funny, but in a way I think it was meant to be sacreligious and mocking, which gets to this issue.

There are atheists who simply don't believe, then there are those who hate belief and believers.

For example, as a Christian, I do not hate those who do not believe. While I generally have negative opinions about heterodox practices that conflict with my beliefs, etc. I do not make public displays of them and only share them in certain cases. Yet, I can also have a reasonable discussion with atheists without resorting to insults and mockery of their doubts.

I think the hair-dryer folks are going way beyond simply disbelieving God and are focussed on hating Him and those who follow Him. This explains the 'faux Latin,' the robes and the hair-dryer. They invoke 'Reason and Truth' as a god and 'dry up' their Baptism in a way that implies that they think their Baptism is somehow 'real,' even though they claim not to believe at all.

I infer from this story that these folks do indeed believe, but what they believe they hate.

One would think that if these were real atheists, they would just leave behind whatever religious practice they followed before and go their merry way. Instead, they adopt a form of baptism (in renouncing their own baptisms), become more evangelical than Evangelicals, and continue to attach themselves to a belief in God, albeit that their belief is that there is no God. Ironically, without God, there would be no atheists. It seems to me that they want to believe in something strongly like those who have faith. Perhaps several of them were not encouraged in religion because religious people they knew were more godless than atheists.

These must be of the catholic sect of atheism.I imagine the more protestant types would just give a sermon or something.

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"I saw a miracle where 2 people entered church one by baptism and one by chrismation. On pictures the one received by full baptism was shinning in light the one by chrismation no."

One poster considered the act funny, but in a way I think it was meant to be sacreligious and mocking, which gets to this issue.

Sacreligious and mocking is the usual business of organised evangelical atheism. They had an event in Helsinki where you could trade your Bible for porn magazines. I agree with you that these events generally are distasteful and worse. The event described in the OP actually made me smile, which is an improvement. Organised atheism that shows a sense of humour is a fresh breeze in my opinion.

Well, there's something ironic about a ritual intended to send up the meaninglessness of infant baptism when those who do baptism are going to hold such a ritual meaningless. Not even the fires of hell are able to dry that one out.

Well, there's something ironic about a ritual intended to send up the meaninglessness of infant baptism when those who do baptism are going to hold such a ritual meaningless. Not even the fires of hell are able to dry that one out.

But I think we are missing an important issue here. The claim by the one lady that "I was born atheist" is one that we will repeatedly hear from atheists. We must be prepared to answer this. This is actually a play on definitions of atheism. To state that a baby does not "believe" in God is irrelevant, since "believe" is perhaps not as pertinent at that point as "aware" of God's presence, because perhaps for all babies this is their first awareness. Our memories are not developed enough to record it. The claim is therefore not verifiable that we are atheists when we are born.

This seems entirely logically inconsistent to me. They should know that for Christians the intention behind Baptism is not just to drench someone with water. Most particularly among Orientals, Byzantines, Romans, Anglicans, Lutherans, etc. it is even traditionally believed that there is a substantial and metaphysical effect to Baptism. It is clear that atheists do not believe that such an effect even exists. So would not the logical conclusion be that they weren't really Baptized in the first place, at least in so far as what those who Baptized them understood it to be? What is the point in trying to de-Baptize one's self if one was not really Baptized in the first place?

What is the point in trying to de-Baptize one's self if one was not really Baptized in the first place?

Publicity and laughs.

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As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to understand something of its past history and its possible future.-- Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS

What is the point in trying to de-Baptize one's self if one was not really Baptized in the first place?

Publicity and laughs.

That's a rather optimistic interpretation. I wouldn't be surprised if many of them were ignorant of Baptism being something more than its form and a matter of placement in a community. I also wouldn't be surprised if many of them were just entirely emotionally reactionary and thus not thinking this through rationally.